South Korean President to be questioned over graft scandal

If Park does appear before prosecutors, it will be the first time in the country's history that a President has been questioned by prosecutors.

Updated: Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 12:28 [IST]

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Seoul, Nov 15 South Korean President Park Geun-hye will be questioned by prosecutors over a corruption and influence peddling case that has sparked a huge controversy and has brought tens of thousands of people on the streets demanding her resignation.

On Tuesday, Park named attorney Yoo Yeong-ha, a former member of the standing committee of the National Human Rights Commission, as her legal representative at the interrogation by the prosecutors that will take place this week, a spokesperson of the presidential Blue House in Seoul told Efe news.

The President's lawyer will coordinate with the prosecutors to fix a day and time for the questioning, the spokesperson said, although according to unconfirmed media reports the prosecution is likely to question the head of state on Wednesday.

If Park does appear before prosecutors, it will be the first time in the country's history that a President has been questioned by prosecutors.

In the past few weeks, South Korean prosecutors have already questioned several former officials, heads of large South Korean companies and the 60-year-old Choi Soon-sil, who, along with the president, is at the heart of the scandal.

Choi, who has never held public office, has been detained for using her influence over Park to gain access to confidential documents and secretly intervening in State affairs, in addition to appropriating funds extorted from companies in the form of donations for personal use.

The so-called "Choi Soon-sil Gate" has sparked the worst political crisis in the country since Park took office in 2013 and caused her popularity ratings to plummet to a record low of 5 per cent.

On Saturday, around 220,000 people gathered in central Seoul according to the police to demand Park's resignation.